Compliance is changing. Is your absence data ready?
The Fair Work Agency has arrived, and with it comes a greater focus on whether businesses can demonstrate compliance. Perhaps surprisingly, that should also get you thinking about your absence data.
Created under the Employment Rights Act 2025, the Fair Work Agency brings together several existing enforcement functions into a single organisation which should support a more joined-up approach to enforcing a range of UK employment rights. It has powers to investigate non-compliance, obtain information and documents and, in certain circumstances, enter premises as part of an investigation.
So, what does that mean for you? Well, the Fair Work Agency’s remit will increasingly extend into areas where accurate employment records matter. Since April 2026, employers have been required to keep adequate records demonstrating compliance with statutory annual leave and holiday pay entitlements, and retain those records for six years. The Fair Work Agency is expected to take on enforcement of statutory holiday pay during 2027.
This places greater emphasis on an employer’s ability to demonstrate what leave has been taken, what has been paid and whether workers have received their statutory entitlements. While these requirements relate specifically to annual leave and holiday pay, they reinforce a principle with much wider relevance: good employment practices need to be supported by good records. And that matters when it comes to sickness absence.
Consider this - if your business was asked tomorrow to demonstrate how it manages sickness absence, how confident would you be in the quality and consistency of your records?
For many organisations, sickness absence still starts with a phone call, followed by a manager making a mental note to update the HR system later. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes the information recorded is incomplete or inaccurate. And sometimes an absence isn't recorded at all. That may be the result of human error or even a manager trying to be helpful to the employee, but inconsistent recording can create a much bigger problem than simply having gaps in your data.
If one manager records every absence and another takes a more informal approach, two employees with similar attendance histories can appear very different on the digital record. When those records are later used to inform absence triggers, return-to-work conversations, decisions about support or formal processes, poor data can quickly become an employee relations and fairness issue.
In some circumstances, inconsistency can create an even greater risk. Employers need to understand whether absence relates to factors such as disability or pregnancy to ensure that decisions are made appropriately. Poor records can make that much harder and, where inconsistent treatment relates to protected characteristics such as disability or pregnancy, potentially contribute to discrimination claims.
Employers need to understand what happened, when it happened and how they responded – and have the evidence to demonstrate that similar situations have been approached consistently.
That's where AVA fits in. Every absence follows the same reporting process, reducing the reliance on individual managers to decide what gets recorded and how. Employees can report their absence consistently, managers receive the information they need for informed follow-up conversations, and every absence is automatically recorded in connected HR systems via API. The result is a clearer record from day one.
Better data for the business, better insight for managers and a stronger foundation for fair treatment of employees.
The Fair Work Agency brings a renewed focus to the records employers keep and their ability to demonstrate compliance. The question for employers is whether their current absence process gives them the consistency, accuracy and visibility they need – or whether now is the time to improve it. Because good compliance and good employee relations both start with better data.
Written by Abigail Buckley
HR Business Partner, The Ink Group